Dungeons & Dragons Movie Reboot Wants Vin Diesel?

Vin Diesel says a lot of things. And sometimes, we're not quite sure how accurate the information may be. Though, he always seems to have the best intentions. In a recent chat with CinemaBlend, the action icon claims that one of the Dungeons & Dragons co-creators wanted Vin Diesel to tell his story. Does this mean game innovator E. Gary Gygax wants the actor to star in a biopic? Or does it mean the D&D godfather wants Vin Diesel to star in the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie reboot? We're not sure.

E. Gary Gygax was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons alongside Dave Arneson. Both gaming mavericks have passed away. And rights to a Dungeons & Dragons movie were locked in a legal battle for years. But this past August, the case was closed and it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures, Hasbro's Allspark Pictures and Sweetpea Entertainment are moving forward on a big screen reboot of the franchise. This follows the first Dungeons & Dragons movie from 2000, which didn't necessarily set the box office on fire. It grossed only $15.2 million from a $45 million budget. The film couldn't even earn back its money overseas, where it earned a global take of just $33.8 million. That's pretty dismal for such a well-recognized title.

Vin Diesel understands this. And when asked if he plans on headlining the new reboot, he makes it clear that the script will have to be perfect. Otherwise, Warner Bros. and Hasbro can forget it. About E. Gary Gygax wanting the actor to be involved, Vin Diesel had this to say about the movie, which is supposed to arrive in 2019.

"I have a friend named Flint Dille, who's one of the writers for my company who, you know, will write something for Riddick, or he'll write something for Hannibal. If you ever read that graphic novel 300 from Frank Miller, there's a character that's modeled after this guy Flint Dille, who's named Flint Delius and he's the orator, he's the one telling you the whole 300 story. In fact, when I was in one of my more intense pre-production phases of Hannibal, Frank Miller was at my house sketching out storyboards...But he said he was great friends with [D&D co-creator] Gary Gygax, and he said something that really, really shocked me, which was that Gary Gygax, before he passed away, said that he wanted me to tell his story. So, whatever it would be in the world of D&D, it would have to be very sacred. And that's how you get me."

The actor goes onto claim that the studio has reached out to him about bringing Dungeons & Dragons back to the big screen. As far as we know, there is no biopic in the works that will revolve around E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. We have to assume that he is talking about the official reboot, which will take place in a fantasy landscape. The actor explains.

"They have come to me in the past with something, and I guess I was too busy at the time. For me to do something like that, it would have to be so - I would be - they have to think really carefully, because it would have to be amazing. And the previous attempts of any kind of cinematic D&D film have failed and just haven't been done right, and that's hard to do with the typical studio type in Hollywood."

Vin Diesel's next movie is The Last Witch Hunter, which follows an immortal warrior locked in a decades long feud with a Queen Witch. It certainly falls into the realm of Dungeons & Dragons, and surely culls some of its themes, actions and ideas from the game itself. As mentioned, Vin Diesel is also working on Hannibal the Conqueror about an ancient military commander that also falls into this genre category. What do you think? Do you want to see Diesel take on the world of Dungeons & Dragons next? Or will The Last Witch Hunter satisfy that itch completely?